Regulating Online Access to Protect Minors: Constitutional Challenges, Legislative Trends, and Privacy Consequences

Joseph M. Cacace | Todd & Weld LLP

Joe Cacace is a seasoned trial lawyer who represents clients in complex business litigation and high-stakes commercial disputes. He has significant experience litigating contract claims, shareholder and partnership disputes, breach of fiduciary duty matters, trade secret misappropriation, non-competition and non-solicitation cases, and other corporate conflicts in both state and federal courts. Known for his strategic insight and courtroom skill, Joe helps businesses and individuals protect their interests and resolve disputes efficiently and effectively.

In addition to his business litigation practice, Joe is widely recognized for his work in First Amendment, defamation, and media law. He regularly represents clients in cases involving reputational harm, free speech, and press-related matters, offering experience that complements his business litigation practice, where reputational issues often intersect with corporate disputes.

Joe’s clients include business owners, executives, media entities, and individuals facing reputational or financial risk. He is frequently sought out for his ability to manage high-profile, sensitive litigation while maintaining focus on achieving favorable outcomes.

Mr. Cacace has served on the Amicus Brief and Appellate-Bench Bar Committees of the Massachusetts Bar Association, and the Board of Governors of the Law Clerks’ Society of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. He also served on the Large Law Firm Subcommittee of the Supreme Judicial Court’s Steering Committee on Lawyer Well-Being.

Mr. Cacace is a frequent presenter on civil litigation topics and has commented in the media on various legal issues.

Prior to joining Todd & Weld, Mr. Cacace was a litigator at a large Boston-based multinational law firm. He served as a law clerk to the Honorable Robert J. Cordy of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.

Mark P. Meuser | Dhillon Law Group Inc

Mark Meuser, an attorney with Dhillon Law Group since 2017, is a leading advocate for small businesses and individuals fighting government and corporate overreach. His practice in constitutional, civil rights, and political law has made him a recognized defender of free speech and economic liberty in the digital age.

Mark played a key role in over three dozen lawsuits during the COVID era, successfully challenging government restrictions that harmed small businesses, churches, and individuals. He also helped strike down the OSHA vaccine mandate, protecting business owners from unconstitutional federal overreach.

His experience includes precedent-setting victories before the Ninth Circuit and active participation in cases before the United States Supreme Court, where his work has shaped the legal understanding of constitutional protections. Drawing on more than 35 years of political and legislative experience, Mark regularly advises organizations, campaigns, and small businesses on navigating complex legal and policy challenges in today’s social and political climate.

With a deep commitment to defending the “little guy,” Mark Meuser brings a wealth of experience protecting small businesses and individuals from being silenced or penalized by powerful entities—whether in government, corporate, or online arenas.

Lee Watt | Watt Firm PLLC

He earned a B. Accountancy degree from the University of Mississippi in 1981 and a Juris Doctor from the University of Mississippi in 1983.

He has more than forty years of experience in private law practice focused on litigation and is rated AV Preeminent. In addition to his litigation practice, he serves as a business consultant for strategic development. For seven years, he taught Law Office Management at Mississippi College School of Law, with an emphasis on human resources, accounting, and marketing.

His litigation experience includes trying dozens of jury cases to verdict involving product liability, shareholder rights, eminent domain, banking, employment, construction, insurance, civil rights, premises liability, and transportation matters. He has also tried approximately 80 bench trials involving annexation, fiduciary, and real estate disputes, and has over thirty years of experience managing mass tort cases.

His administrative experience includes representing local governmental entities such as fire, utility, and school districts, as well as handling governmental relations related to tax incentives, permitting, and litigation matters at both the local and state levels.

His commercial experience includes work in mergers and acquisitions, shareholder rights, business origination, and economic development initiatives.

He is a member of The Mississippi Bar, serving on the Ethics, Technology & Court Liaison, and Judicial Administration Committees; the Mississippi Defense Lawyers Association; the American Bar Association Tort Litigation Committee; and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. He also serves as a Commissioner of the Jackson County Port Authority as a gubernatorial appointee.

He is a frequent speaker on continuing legal education programs focusing on trial practice and probate litigation.

I. The Supreme Court’s role in defining state authority | 1:00pm – 1:10pm

II. Commerce Clause concerns with state-by-state regulation | 1:10pm – 1:20pm

III. First Amendment challenges: Free speech and privacy | 1:20pm – 1:30pm

IV. Policy motivations and legislative trends driving age-verification laws | 1:30pm – 1:40pm

• Bipartisan appeal: Shared and divergent rationales among state lawmakers

V. Privacy and data protection concerns raised by verification requirements | 1:40pm – 1:50pm

VI. Alternative solutions that better achieve online safety and address individual free speech and privacy concerns | 1:50pm – 2:00pm

Break | 2:00pm – 2:10pm

VII. Mississippi’s law regulating digital service providers | 2:10pm – 2:20pm

VIII. Protect minors from exposure to and access to harmful online material | 2:20pm – 2:40pm

• Age verification
• Parental consent for minors
• Limiting data collection from minors
• Mandating mitigation of harmful content to minors

IX. Impetus for the legislation | 2:40pm – 2:50pm

X. First Amendment considerations | 2:50pm – 3:00pm

XI. Litigation seeking to enjoin its enforcement | 3:00pm – 3:10pm